


Digging up the Past

by gabby_http



Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: After the Vault, Angst, Depression, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Triggers, eventual NSFW, panic/anxiety attacks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-02 13:50:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17265329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gabby_http/pseuds/gabby_http
Summary: The Gortys Project existed within Atlas long before the fall of it. This was known to be a fact within the corporation, and a very select few knew of its existence. However, the contents found upon discovery, ones that could possibly reside within this vault, was what triggered its initial destruction and eradication. People easily become terrified of the unknown. Everything was destroyed, sloppy desperation to try and hide one of Pandora’s biggest secrets. It is no coincidence that the Hyperion and the Con Artist are the ones who happened to stumble upon it years later. Everything in the entire universe has a meaning. Everything that occurs, no matter how insane or unreal it may appear, is meant to be. It stems from a decades long saying by mankind, “Everything happens for a reason.”





	1. Prologue

### Chapter 1: Prologue

The Gortys Project existed within Atlas long before the fall of it. This was known to be a fact within the corporation, and a very select few knew of its existence. However, the contents found upon discovery, ones that could possibly reside within this vault, was what triggered its initial destruction and eradication. People easily become terrified of the unknown. Though, it can be assured that that assassin, _Athena_ , and her orders to liquidate the project were on a strict need to know basis. She was never given any reason as to _why_ the project had to be shut down. No answers as to why no one was ever meant to put Gortys together. She couldn’t possibly fathom the fear of what catastrophe it would be if the wrong person had been able to gain access to it. Those poor employees… after everything they did, they couldn’t _possibly_ think that after the project was eliminated, just as they were, it would be found again. Everything was destroyed, a sloppy desperation to try and hide one of Pandora’s _biggest_ secrets. It is no coincidence that the _Hyperion_ and the _Con Artist_ are the ones who happened to stumble upon it years later. Everything in the entire universe has a meaning. Everything that occurs, no matter how insane or unreal it may appear, is meant to be. It stems from a decades long saying by mankind, “Everything happens for a _reason_.” 

 

 

A strong tingling sensation seemed to be running through every muscle, nerve, and vein Fiona’s body contained. The first thing she was met with upon the opening of her eyes was dark, smooth stone. Small creases and cracks rested within it. Her left cheek was pressed right up against it, along with the rest of her body. She must’ve fallen, but from _where_? The way she fell had to have hurt, but the adrenaline pumping through her veins was most likely numbing the soon to be excruciating pain. Trying to pry her body off the floor was extremely difficult. Her arms felt all wobbly and it took her a few tries to be able to even sit up. The first thing that came into her line of sight was her _hat_. Resting upon the stone just like her cheek had been moments earlier. Reaching over to grab it, something else caught her eye. Well, a sound rather. She heard small grunts and groans coming from somewhere close to her. She knew right away it had to be _Rhys_. It could only be Rhys. They… they opened the vault _together _, walked right into it and just like that… here they are. Wherever _here_ is. Once her hat was safely situated on her head, she then turned around to look for the jackas- company man. Lucky for her, he was easy to spot. Once she turned around, she saw Rhys lying right there behind her. He seemed to have landed similarly to her. Completely pressed up against the dark stone. __

____

____

____

“Rhys!” Fiona called out, hoarsely and his name didn’t come out quite as loudly as she intended it too. Rhys didn’t hear it, of course. He was barely conscious, she could infer that from the small sounds he was making. “ _Shit_.” She muttered under her breath. She would need to go and.. and shake him awake, or… or _something_. Anything. 

____

____

____

Fiona didn’t have complete strength over her legs yet, so she opted to simply crawl the few inches towards Rhys. Though, crawling over to him seemed to be way harder than she expected. She felt as if her body wasn’t even hers. It felt… numb and detached. As if she were a ghost or… _transparent_ , if that were even possible. Her arms were still very weak and she felt like she was using them for the very first time. It seemed like he kept getting farther and farther away from her. _Unreachable_ to her. “Rh..ys..” She strained as she desperately tried to make use of her elbows and crawl towards him as fast as her body allowed. _Dammit_. She felt her heart in her stomach, the small noises of life that had been coming from the man seconds ago were now replaced with complete silence. _No_ , she thought, _not like this_. The supposed impossible became possible and Fiona had crawled over to Rhys and was now doing her best to turn him over and onto his back. 

____

____

____

“Rhys.” She repeated for what felt like the _millionth_ time. “Rhys! Come on, wake up! Wake up!” She was perilously shaking him now. As hard as she possibly could with the frailty still present in her arms. She stopped shaking him for just one moment, and she brought her head to his chest. Listening carefully, for any sign of life. She watched his chest closely, and not long after, there it was. The rise and fall of it. Once she was sat back up, she placed two fingers to his neck. A _pulse_. Her body relaxed immediately. If… if she hadn’t felt anything, or if he didn’t wake up… Fiona swallowed hard and had to literally shake her head. _Nope, we are not going to think like that_. She thought to herself as she attempted to try and shake Rhys awake yet again. It seemed much easier now that she was able to deem that he was actually alive. 

____

____

____

“Mmrgh.” Was all she was able to get in response, he wasn’t a man of fine, elaborate words anyway. 

____

____

____

“Rhys?” She questioned, olive green eyes all wide and looking over every part of his face. 

____

____

____

“Mm… Fi… Fiona?” Fiona felt her eyes begin to water and it was… so _stupid_ , she was so stupid, but after all they’ve just been through together, with… with _Sasha_ , and just… _everything_. She couldn’t imagine just losing him now. No matter how much she couldn’t stand him at times, and how _infuriating_ she found his stupid face, his stupid hair, and that stupid, stupid, stupid grin he got when he thought he was being slick. She couldn’t imagine opening that vault with anyone else. She couldn’t imagine being _here_ with _anyone else_. She quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve before Rhys managed to open his own, and when he finally did, she managed to help him to sit up straight. 

____

____

____

His head ached, of course, out of all places to land, it had to be right on his head. Well, not right on his head. The side of his head… maybe, or _whatever_. Whatever, that doesn’t matter. What matters is, where in the literal _fuck_ are they? That was his first thought. He didn’t even see Fiona at first, crouched down right in front of him, his legs all sprawled out on both sides of her. A look with the mixture of both terror and relief spilled all over her face. Their faces and bodies a little _too_ close. Close enough to the point where he couldn’t figure out if he could feel his heart beat in his ears because of the amount of pain he was in or because Fiona was literally right there between his legs. _Get your mind out of the gutter, you moron. Now is sooo not the time._

____

____

____

Rhys cleared his throat and looked around to what seemed to be a cave. It wasn’t a regular cave though, nothing in comparison to what housed Hollow Point. There seemed to be what looked like… _arches_. Everywhere. All lined up beside each other. The room was circular from what he could tell. He could see no exit. There was no _Eridium_ in sight. No crazy rare guns, or piles of gold, or whatever the hell people find in these things. Just these friggin arches. They all looked like different entrances to vaults. The same shape and what he assumed to be the same material. He couldn’t exactly use his ECHOeye to scan anything in here right now, as he was unable to connect to the ECHOnet. Not that it’d be much help anyhow. Since he took over Atlas, he had to rework the entire database from the ground up. When he started going into the Atlas tech, obviously looking for files and whatnot, trying to find somewhere to begin, everything was practically gone. Just as it was meant to be he figured. None of that really even _mattered_ right now as it has nothing to do with what kind of stone material is used for these… these vault arch _thingies_ , if that’s even what they are anyway. If he were able to actually scan these structures, it would be extremely helpful in deciphering what exactly they _are_. It would give them some sort of an idea. He could tell he was deep in thought and, perhaps, even thinking aloud, when Fiona decided to slap him right across the face. Literally, right across the _face_. Out of nowhere. 

____

____

____

“What the _hell_ , Fiona?!” Rhys exclaimed as he held his now stinging cheek, his headache growing even worse now. Just another thing to add to the list of injuries he probably had when they fell from… _wherever_ the hell they fell from.

____

____

____

Fiona just shrugged and folded her arms, “Sorry, had to make sure you were still here and not suffering from like… a brain hemorrhage, or... or _something_. You literally weren’t moving… like at all.” She answered. “Not to mention, before you weren’t even-“ She decided to cut herself short, and just leave that part out _entirely_. Not really wanting to give Rhys the satisfaction of how scared she had been when she thought he might’ve been… _ya know_.

____

____

____

Rhys rolled his eyes, that marks the second time Fiona caused some sort of _injury_ to his head, or around his general head area. “Unbelievable.” He muttered as he slowly began to try and get up and on his feet. Fiona followed in tow, just as slow. Surprisingly it wasn’t as difficult for him to stand up as it seemed to be for Fiona. He assumed it had to due with the fact that most of his damage went straight to his head, rather than landing right on his legs as Fiona apparently did. He looked down at her and he could tell she was becoming embarrassed, the tips of her ears were starting to form a light shade of pink. _Wow_ , he thought to himself, even in these circumstances, she wasn’t able to simply let go of her _pride_ and just ask him for help. She was really… _something_. 

____

____

____

Eventually he reached out his hand toward her, and she took it without a word. Standing up as quickly as possible. She then brushed herself off and looked around the room. 

____

____

____

“Okay-“ 

____

____

____

Fiona couldn’t even finish her sentence, before one of the arches began to glow, like really glow. It was so bright, Rhys feared if he stared at it long enough, he would end up going blind. Even Fiona was now using her hat as a shield for her eyes, for what he presumed to be for the same reason.

____

____

____

“What the _shit_?!” She questioned in a voice that seemed to contain both annoyance and utter horror. The worst part was that Rhys didn’t even have an answer for her. He was thinking the exact same thing. He just looked at her, and she managed to return his dumbfounded gaze, a part of her face still protected by her hat.

____

____

____

“D-Do we-“ Rhys began and nodded towards what could only be either an _entrance_ or an _exit_.

____

____

____

Fiona hesitated, but what else was she going to do? What else were _they_ going to do? This… thing opened up for a reason, and it felt just like they were about to enter the vault for the first time. They would have to take the same risk they had taken then. Neither of them knew what they were going to find on the other side, but they were here. _Together_. Together, they could do this.

____

____

____

“Just… just me and you, right?” Fiona asked finally, her voice trembling slightly, and Rhys couldn’t help the small smile that formed on his lips at her question. 

____

____

____

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Rhys replied and shot her a wink.

____

____

____

The two then proceeded very _cautiously_ towards the arch, defending their faces from the light. Hands brushing up against one another closely, and ultimately their fingers found each other and interlocked. Similar to the last time, as soon as they got too close to the opening, in the matter of what felt like half a second, the cave was empty again. All life disappeared, and complete silence filled the entirety of the room once more.

____

____

____


	2. Back Against the Wall

###  Chapter 2: Back Against the Wall 

When Rhys and Fiona awoke again, they were right back to where the entrance of the vault _should’ve_ been. This time it was gone. No sign or trace of it. They returned with absolutely nothing. This vault was suppose to be their _big break_. Set them up for life. Fiona and Sasha would finally be able to go off world somewhere, and Rhys would use the Eridium to create more Eridium-based weapons for Atlas. It would’ve paid the difference for the loss of the ten million dollars that was taken from the sisters, and helped to launch Atlas off the ground completely with no chance of failure, and everything would’ve been just _fine_ with the world. 

###### 

On days like today, when Fiona and Athena were given a fake tip regarding _another_ vault being on Pandora, or hearing rumors that the Vault of the Traveller magically appeared _somewhere_ on this shithole yet again, she found herself often thinking about this. Not finding anything in that stupid, fucking vault completely _ruined_ her. Her life remained the same as it always did, except instead of making little to no money as a _Con Artist_ , she was now making little to no money as a _Vault Hunter_. If she could even call herself that now. After the Vault of the Traveller, the search for a new vault continued. However, the fact that this vault came up empty scared a lot of Pandorans. Since, who’s to say the next one won’t as well? Vault Hunters risked _everything_ to find these vaults, and the idea of putting everything at stake with _absolutely_ nothing in return… yeah, it turned many away from the prospect of vault hunting. 

Athena was a perfect example. Fiona had promised her a piece of the vault in order to thank her for training and protecting her and her sister. Athena had to once again go back behind Janey’s back and pick this up again, along with some other side jobs that she never fully disclosed with Fiona, nor did Fiona even want her too. Athena and Janey were forced to put their wedding on hold, and because of that, their life was put on hold as well. The two dreamed of marrying and retiring off planet somewhere, most likely to one of the _Edens_ , or maybe a warm, tropical planet like _Aquator_ , those posters are literally everywhere after all. This vault was meant to set everyone up for life, and perhaps it was their own mistake for putting so much expectation into it. She should’ve know by now, she’s been around the block multiple times, setting expectations for things, as well as _people_ , just never seems to work out for her. 

Fiona let out a small sigh as she folded her arms over her chest and leaned against Athena’s bike. Athena didn’t even believe her at first, no one did. The idea of a vault coming up _empty_ just didn’t click. It was… unheard of. _Impossible_. Of course, with her shitty luck, the one vault she actually happens to open turns out to be fucking empty. She couldn’t get that part out of her head either. 

She watched as Athena… _persuaded_ a possible tip out of a store owner with her fingers so entangled in the neck of his shirt, Fiona thought Athena would end up ripping it. Athena wasn’t the type of person to let personal feelings get in the way of work, but she was acting out way more _aggressively_ lately. Often resorting to violence out of pure _frustration_ , and Fiona understood all too well. Coming home to Janey night after night with not so much as a dollar to her name had to be immensely infuriating. It was no way to live. Granted Janey had a job of her own, but even she had to go and double her hours, work _more_ and _harder_ everyday, and when business was slow, she would be _forced_ to actually go out to find clients. Athena, one night out of nowhere, had a heart to heart with Fiona. Complaining that this was a very _low_ part in their relationship, they’d never been this… _distant_ from one another before. When Athena first began dating Janey, she stopped vault hunting completely, opting to do more side jobs instead. This enabled her to be able to come home to Janey every night, and she was at least bringing home _something_. Fiona saw the toll it had taken on Athena. For instance, nearly beating the shit out of a random person, because he didn’t have the answer she wanted, was completely out of her character. She would normally had Fiona go and try to persuade them with _words_ rather than with _fists_.

Fiona then saw Athena shove the man to the ground and stomp back over to where she was currently standing.

“I _hate_ this goddamn planet.” She muttered through her teeth, and Fiona nodded in agreement.

“What’d he say?” Fiona then asked, and immediately regretted it, because apparently just remembering his words almost sent Athena right back over to finish the job. 

“Don’t know what to tell you _sweetheart_.” Athena replied mockingly. “When he said sweetheart, I almost broke his nose.” Fiona knew that wasn’t the part that angered Athena the most though. She knew it was the fact that they were right back at _square one_ again, and Athena would have to return back to Janey once more… with _nothing_. 

Fiona scoffed and shook her head. Was it this hard for _everyone_ else? “What the _hell_ are we going to do? I can’t keep relying on my sister and August to keep me afloat.” August managed to get a job retrieving model guns and weapons, and proceeded to sell them to huge weapon manufacturing companies. _Atlas_ was one of them. Sasha decided to join him. After the vault, she really had no other choice. They needed money somehow, and August was doing good for himself. He even went as far as to put the past behind him, and asked Sasha to come back to him. Despite how Fiona felt about him, he was able to provide her sister with the most important thing, and that was _security_. As long as her sister was taken care of, Fiona felt somewhat better. It didn’t help much that she had to live off the money Sasha had been sending her every week. Even though Sasha _assured_ her constantly that it was okay, and she had no problem doing it, because they were _family_ , it still managed to make her feel so damn _pathetic_. Sasha would ask her countless times if she ever wanted to join in with her and August, and Fiona always declined. She was _passionate_ about vault hunting or… well, _used_ to be. Now, it all just seemed to be a huge mistake. It all blew up right in her face. She tried so _desperately_ to excel at it and now she was just left with _failure_. 

Athena nudged Fiona with her elbow. “You aren’t going to like this, but… maybe we should go talk to _Rhys_.” 

The sound of his name alone tied her stomach into a knot. “Are you… are you _serious_?” Fiona questioned, her expression quickly changing from harrowing to massively vexed that she would even _dare_ ask such a thing. “You fail to realize that he isn’t in the same boat as us. In fact, he isn’t even on a boat, he’s in an _ivory_ tower, in a stupid, big boss chair, probably counting _hundreds_ of dollars at a time. He won’t give a _shit_.” 

Athena rose her eyebrows in surprise at her remark. Fiona knew it was a bit harsh, but _dammit_ , she deserved to be agitated with him. After the vault became a no go, Rhys was not only _unaffected_ by it in the slightest, but all that talk before they entered the vault, about how important money was for _security_ purposes, and how if she ever _needed_ a job, he’d _help_ her. All of that was clearly bullshit, because he hadn’t even _attempted_ to reach out to her once since then, and that was two or three months ago. Yeah, she hadn’t really made any real effort either, but he was the one who offered! So, at least follow up _goddammit_. 

“ _Look_.” Athena began after allowing for a few second to pass. “I don’t know what the hell transpired between _you_ two, but I personally don’t know how many more failures I can handle.” This caused Fiona to look up at her. “If you want to continue down this route of utter _shit_ and _disappointment_ , that’s fine. I just can’t do it anymore. I need a backup plan, and despite all that Atlas had put me through, I feel like with Rhys it’s… it’s _different_. We see it every time we go from town to town, he’s making Pandora somewhat of a _better_ place. Implementing work with construction jobs and office cubicles. He’s changing the entire atmosphere of this shithole and his work isn’t going unnoticed.” Fiona couldn’t disagree with that. Rhys’s _big thing_ wasn’t even to try and change Pandora, and yet, he here was… doing _exactly_ that. Pandorans were able to apply for and hold decent jobs now. This planet needed a lot of work, and she wasn’t exactly sure of how much Atlas was making, but Rhys had practically employed _half_ of Pandora, and the planet was bettering from that. Before Rhys, no one had managed to get somewhat of a _grip_ on the planet like he had. Towns and neighborhoods looked less rundown, and more stable. Granted, it would probably take _decades_ to make Pandora even remotely… _liviable_ or _normal_ , but he was doing a good job, and she had to at least acknowledge that. 

“I guess… I guess you aren’t… _wrong_.” Fiona said after a while, and looked away from Athena, preferring to lock her eyesight on an Atlas poster on one of the crumbling buildings they were standing horizontal from. “I mean… what choice do we have?” Athena seemed relieved to hear this; however, Fiona couldn’t help, but follow it with, “How do we even know he’s in the market for _Vault Hunters_?” Athena rolled her eyes at that, “ _Fiona_ , I’ll even take a _desk job_ if it meant I’d have at least _ten dollars_ in my pocket.” She replied and Fiona made a thoughtful noise at that. A year ago, she couldn’t even picture herself in an office building, never mind actually working in one.

“Besides-“ Athena continued, “I _already_ spoke with him.” 

Fiona’s jaw nearly dropped at this, “ _What_?!” the word coming out much louder than she intended it too. “You… wh… when? And _when_ the hell did you plan on telling me?” 

“Relax, I just spoke to him yesterday. I wanted to see how today went first, since the last time I sought employment from a _company man_ , he ended up being a manic _psychopath_.” Athena answered and leaned back against her bike as well, now looking at the same poster Fiona was. It had black and yellow stripes… _of course_ , running vertically down it with Atlas in bold, large letters. “He told me to come by the base in Old Haven. I don’t have fond memories of it, but I heard he’s _completely_ redone it.”

“Is that so? No more… uh, _not so_ dead nobodies, or any signs of _massacre_ like when we first found it?” Fiona questioned, trying to make light of it, but it went right over Athena’s head, “Nope. _Polished_ and _efficient_ apparently.” Athena most likely heard this from some of the _Children of Helios_. Rhys employed all of them as well, and she kept in contact with them for jobs from time to time. 

“Well-“

“He asked about _you_.” Athena suddenly added, and rather than a knot forming, there seemed to be a _million_ species of different butterflies in her stomach. She wanted to say something in response, but… all she could do was turn to Athena and give her a startled look.

“Yeah. So, uhm… he also said if you wanted a job, doing… _whatever_ , it uh, it was yours.” Fiona immediately dismissed this. So, what? _Now_ he wanted to offer her a job? When someone reached out to him, but this _entire_ time he couldn’t take the time to reach out to _her_? What a _jackass_. 

“He also was asking about your current financial situation, and if you were doing okay, if you had what you needed, and staying safe of course. I didn’t what to say, rather… what you _wanted_ me to say, so I told him I’d tell you he asked about you, and he stuttered out… _something_.” Fiona couldn’t help, but chuckle softly at that. CEO of a major corporation or not, he really could be such a _damn_ moron sometimes.

“Ultimately Fiona-“ Athena went on, “the only way to get out of your _current_ situation is to go through Rhys. While, I know all too well how much it sucks to go from being dependent on one person to another, it’ll be an _actual_ job. This is really our only chance at this point.”

Fiona hated that Athena was right. It made her feel… _pitiable_. She was all talk before the vault as well, sure as shit that she would be out here hunting and finding vaults left and right. She felt _equal_ to him in that moment, like she could stand tall beside him. Going back now and asking him for work after so many repeated _failures_ felt like such a cliche, but she was at a total loss, with nowhere to go. She knew she would feel even worse continuing to take from her sister like she had been, especially when there was _no_ end in sight. This would probably be the only _viable_ option anymore. 

Fiona stayed quiet for a little while, trying to wrap her head around everything. Seeing Rhys again was _big_ on that list. After they parted the _first_ time, she didn’t know if he was alive or dead, so seeing him was a relief, despite her resentments at the time. Now, it just felt all so… _different_. Why hasn't he reached out to her? What has he been doing all this time? Was he even okay? All these _questions_ she sought answers too, answers she knew she wouldn’t get unless she traveled back with Athena to Old Haven. This meant she would be going back to the facility that _started_ all of this in the first place, and while she probably wasn’t _mentally_ prepared for it, she couldn’t keep going on the way she was either. 

“ _Dammit_.” She murmured and Athena finally turned to look at her. “I really… don’t have much of a choice, do I?” Athena shrugged, “We all have choices. That’s what makes us human. Although, we have the power of _choosing_ what we do, whether it's for the best or for the worst. I know that _personally_ this might be the only break I get for _awhile _, and maybe… vault hunting is finally _dying_ down.” As soon as Athena said this, she could see a visibly distressed expression come over Fiona’s face, so she quickly replied with, “Or - the vaults could just be _elsewhere_. We know there are some off world. Places we can only get too with the help of someone like _Rhys_ and a corporation like _Atlas_. It’s barely possible to get off world on our own, never mind only for vault hunting purposes. Regardless, we would need his, or some other hotshot’s help sooner or later.”__

____

Fiona nodded slowly. “It just _bothers_ me. A whole damn vault filled with _nothing_ , but stupid, useless structures.” She started, “And, not a _damn_ person in this _entire_ fucking universe has an answer for it. They just accept it. There’s no questions as to _how_ a vault could possibly be empty, nor how the hell it could even possibility teleport back to _wherever_ it came from out of thin _friggin_ air. I… I just don’t get it.” 

____

“It’d be stupid to try and comprehend it Fiona, and you may never get an answer for it, all we could do now is _move_ forward. I’ve never heard or known anything of empty, disappearing vaults, but maybe Rhys does. For all we know, he could have it completely _sorted_ out already.” Fiona knew Athena was trying to make her feel better, she’s been her voice of reason these past few months, but the idea of Rhys having information like that and _not_ sharing it with her made her feel ten times more shitty. If anything, he’d be _obligated_ too. They discovered it together and opened it together. It would only be right. Yet, a part of her sort of… _wished_ this were the case, only because then her curiosity and anguish over the matter could _finally_ come to an end. She was in such turmoil, going back and forth in her head. Athena was right though, in moving forward. This was the _only_ way she’d be able to finally do _something_ with herself, and not feel like such a… a _loser_. It also gave her some peace of mind that Athena would be right there with her. Fiona knew that she would have to eventually face Rhys _alone_ , that was just _inevitable_. 

____

“Alright, alright, alright. You’re _right_.” Fiona groaned with a sigh and adjusted her hat. “Off to Old Haven, I suppose.” Athena smiled at this and nodded, “Let me call Janey and let her know.” Athena looked happy with this development, and while Janey wasn’t _super_ fond of this line of work, it was _something_ at least and it gave Athena a purpose. Fiona hadn’t seen Athena this content in awhile. She couldn’t fight this even if she wanted too. Whatever was going on _between_ her and Rhys didn’t, and shouldn’t, concern Athena, it wouldn’t be fair. Not to mention, she would probably end up doing _whatever_ the hell she wanted too anyway. Fiona had a few hours to contemplate all of this, they were in Sanctuary Hole right now, and Old Haven wasn’t far off with some sort of vehicle. 

____

_Wow_ , she thought, she was actually going to see _Rhys_ again. The thought of it caused the butterflies to return, and she tried to picture how he might’ve _changed_. It hadn’t been that long, but still. The part of her that wasn’t so irate with him was actually… _excited_ to see him and talk to him again, and even just be in his _presence_. While she loved being around Athena, and spending as much time with Athena as she was, she was also _alone_ a lot. Her sister was planet hopping, discovering all sorts of _new_ places, and she was happy for her obviously. Although, _sometimes_ the loneliness managed to sneak in. She wondered if Rhys spoke to _Vaughn_ still, he probably does. What about when Vaughn _wasn’t_ there? She found herself wondering if he ever… if he ever _missed_ her. As much as she hated to admit it, a lot of the time she _missed_ him, and it would actually _kill_ her if she were to find out he hadn’t given so much as a _second thought_ about her, or hadn’t missed her the way… the _way_ she _missed_ him. She decided on keeping all of this _shit_ to herself for now. She would need to meet him again and see what sort of _CEO dick_ he became. 

____

“ _Okay_.” Athena said suddenly, returning back to the where Fiona was after having had walked off to speak with Janey. “We’re ready.” 

____

Fiona gave Athena a small smile at this. The last time they saw each other, Rhys had _changed_ so much. She kept trying to put it together in her head, how different he may be this time.

____

The two got onto Athena’s motorcycle and started on the path which led in the direction of Old Haven. A mixture of both butterflies and knots filled Fiona’s stomach the entire time. She had no idea what to expect.

____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! Thank you so so much for reading!!! I haven’t written in awhile and I’m absolutely thrilled to be writing again!! I absolutely adore Rhys and Fiona, and I wanted to compose a fic of one of my many theories on what may have happened to them after the vault, since its something I’m sure we all think about a lot. I intend on updating every two weeks or so, however, chapter 3 should be out by the end of this week, as these two first chapter were basically just world and relationship building. Anyway, enough of my rambling, I hope you enjoyed reading this small part and stay along for the ride!!!


	3. Put it on Me

### Chapter 3: Put it on Me

The facility standing before Fiona was nothing like the one they had accidentally stumbled upon almost a year ago. Apparently Athena’s source was _right_. This place had been completely _renovated_ , and life was brought back into it. She assumed Rhys had decided to keep it risen, since Atlas was the only big name in weapon manufacturing on Pandora at the moment, and with that came really no _risks_ with having a base like this out in the open anymore. 

Athena eventually cleared her throat as she folded her arms over her chest. 

“ _So_ , uh… are we going to proceed inside or stick out even more by standing out here like morons.” 

“Oh.” Fiona replied, and looked at the door in front of them. It was completely sealed. Big heavy, metal doors with the name _Atlas_ written across it in big, bold yellow letters. Fiona then looked from the door to Athena, back to the door, and then back to Athena again. “How do we um… open the doors to the mystical land of _douchebags_ and assholes?” Athena’s mouth twitched into a very small grin before she walked up to Fiona, and examined the door more closely. 

“Hm.” Was all Athena had to say, and Fiona arched a brow. “Hm?” She repeated, “What he… he never told you how to actually get _in_ the base once you got here?” It was almost comical, and judging by Athena’s silence, it happened to be true. “ _Oh my god_. This is such a friggin steaming load of skag crap. What the _hell_ do we do now?”

Athena turned to Fiona, very deadpan all of a sudden, and glanced down at her pocket. “I… I never thought I’d ever be saying this. Mostly because it was so damn weird and freaky, and a part of me thought that something was very… _very_ wrong with you, but-”

She paused, and it seemed to physically pain her to continue on. Fiona had no idea what the hell Athena was even going on about, but she finally opened her mouth again after a long pause. “Maybe we need… the _eyeball_.” Athena finished, all serious and regarding Fiona dryly, now that she was actually making eye contact with her again. 

When Fiona’s aggravated expression lightened into a shit eating grin, Athena regretted her words more than ever. “Oh _god_ ,” She began, followed by an exasperated sigh, “I cannot _believe_ I just said that.”

Fiona very proudly reached into her pocket and retrieved the eyeball from one of Atlas’s former generals, _Pollux_. It was still very much intact, not even rotting, or deterenating in any way, shape, or form. “That is… so damn _weird_.” Athena murmured under her breath, and Fiona shook her head in response. “As I’ve said, on multiple occasions, it comes in _handy_.”

Fiona then held up the eye in front of what she presumed to be some sort of identification panel and positioned the eye _directly_ in front of it. When the doors didn’t open right away, Athena then thought that there was no _possible_ way Rhys didn’t already clear out all previous employee’s identifications. Although, she quickly learned that wasn’t the case when the doors split open and the base had opened up for them.

“ _Woah_ …” Was the first word out of Fiona’s mouth as both her and Athena stepped inside. Their sudden arrival immediately caused every eye in the room to be drawn to them, and that was… _a lot_ , and every single one was an Atlas worker. Athena made a whispered comment about having never seen so many in one place before. Clearly Rhys was trying to _desperately_ separate himself from the past of his company. It was a complete office environment, just as Fiona originally thought it would be. Nonetheless, standing here now, there was something… _unreal_ about it. Even Athena was left speechless, and that was very _rare_.

“ _Fiona_?” A crisp, pulpy voice called out of nowhere, startling both Fiona and Athena. They both turned and were met with a bright, smiling face, with deep blue eyes, and long, wavy, blonde hair. “Um… that would be _her.” Athena suddenly spoke up and nodded towards Fiona, who was trying to assess the girl mentally. Something was… _off_. _

__

“Right, of course, and you must be _Athena_.” She then turned to Fiona and gave her yet another radiant smile. The more she talked, the more her accent was brought to to Fiona’s attention, hints of it here and there, subtle, but noticeable. Fiona was so taken back, she almost didn’t reply. Who the hell was _this_? Surely, she couldn’t be just any regular employee. 

__

“Oh! Oh my goodness, I am so sorry! Where are my manners?” The blonde said, her expression changing into one of pure embarrassment, her smile remained though. “Fiona, Athena, hello, it's a pleasure to finally be able to meet the two of you. My name is _Emily Swan_.”

__

Fiona turned to Athena, like she happened to know _exactly_ who this person was, and Athena returned Fiona’s look with a shrug. They weren’t able to even try and begin to pair a name and face to someone they might know, as Emily began to walk, signaling with her hand for them to follow her. They did, but very _attentively_. 

__

“Rhys tells me you two are vault hunters, that must be so _exciting_. He _boasts_ of his vault hunter friends all the time.” Emily said with a giggle, an actual _giggle_ , and as if she were recalling the moment in her head, her smile grew. Fiona didn’t know why this _ticked_ her off, but it really managed to get right under her skin. They then turned a corner which led to a long corridor. “The elevator is right down here. It’ll lead us right up to Rhys’s office. I already let him know you’re here.” 

__

Fiona’s stomach felt like it had actually _dropped_ at that. Even though Athena had already spoken with him yesterday and told him they were coming, they were _hours_ away from him, now, they were in the exact _same_ building, and a mere elevator ride away. Fiona could practically feel her blood coursing through every one of her veins all ending in the _frantic_ beating of her heart. She feared if she looked down, she would be able to see her heart beating _right_ through her chest. She hadn’t even stopped and asked herself if she was even _ready_ to see Rhys yet.

__

They then got to the elevator and Emily used her keycard to open the doors. Once she did, she shot them yet _another_ smile, and they all entered the small, enclosed space.

__

_Okay, so yeah, Fiona and Rhys didn’t end on _bad terms_ , per se, but they didn’t exactly end on _good terms_ either. The vault was _empty_ and everyone just… went their own way. Yet, he still didn’t _bother_ calling her, or even _trying to get in touch with her, and that's what bothered her the most. What the _hell_ was up with that? Oh, but he talks to _this_ girl, whose skirt is a little _too_ short, with a shirt that doesn’t have _enough_ closed buttons, how _amazing_ she and Athena are? Bullshit. She didn’t buy it for a second. They could’ve been dead, and he wouldn’t know. _She_ could’ve been dead, and-

The elevator beeped and before Fiona could even let go of the breath she had been holding, they arrived at his office. The doors opened to a small waiting room, there were four chairs with a magazine rack on the side of the last one. The chairs and rack were facing opposite two large metal doors. The design for this room was much like what she’s seen so far being here. Nothing too _spectacular_. In fact, she couldn’t picture the goofy, awkward, stuttering mess of a company man _actually_ having people waiting to meet him, but here _she_ was, about to do the _exact_ same.

“Alright, excuse me for one moment ladies.” Emily said and entered Rhys’s office while she and Athena stood uncomfortably outside. All of this thinking made her want to just run away. Never mind being ready to see him, she didn’t even know if she _wanted_ too anymore. For all she knew, the Rhys she was with in the vault could be gone and replaced with… with _corporate scum_. A huge dickhead CEO, like the rest of them. She didn’t know if she had the _heart_ to see if Rhys had turned into someone like _that_ , so opposite of himself. It took her awhile to see that, but when she finally did, she feared it’d be _gone_ before she could really appreciate it and… she didn’t know if she could take _that_.

“A-Athena.” Fiona said suddenly, her voice wavering with pure anxiety. “I… I-I don't… I don’t think I _can_ do this. This was a _huge_ mistake.” Athena’s eyes grew wide with surprise, but before she could say anything in reply, the tapping of heels against tile and the reopening of those huge, _obnoxious_ metal doors, put everything to a halt. Emily emerged and waved them over, “Rhys actually has a job for Athena already, he needs her insight on some stolen Atlas tech she might be able to track down. I’ll give you all the information, and I’m sure Fiona can join you _after_ if she wants.” Fiona rose her eyebrows in shock. “What… what do you mean _after_? After _what_? Why can’t the two of us just go now?”

Emily considered her for a moment, before her expression changed to one of refined amusement. “Actually, Fiona, he wishes to speak with _you_. If… if you want.” Fiona looked back at Athena who, as if it were the _easiest_ thing in the whole, entire world, said, “Why not? It’s been awhile. About time the two of you catch up.” Clearly she had _no_ idea what she was talking about, and was blind to the inner turmoil Fiona had been experiencing since they left that _stupid_ vault. What could he _possibly_ want to speak with her about? She could picture his dumb face already, trying to give her every excuse in the book.

Fiona had her arms crossed, and was impatiently tapping on her elbow with her index finger. Ah, _whatever_. She needed to relieve some of this built up frustration _somehow_ , and yell at someone who actually _deserved_ it. 

“ _Okay_. Okay, fine.” Fiona finally responded. “I guess I could talk to him for _five_ minutes.” With that, Fiona heard a snicker from behind her, and she didn’t even give Athena the satisfaction of shooting her a dirty look, so instead, she walked past Emily and into the room. Closing the door behind her, she was immediately greeted with the lightness if it. Compared to the rest of the building, that felt like a serious, top-ranking, billion dollar company, which... it _was_ , but that’s besides the point. This… this room. It just felt like _Rhys_. 

She didn’t even see him at first. She was more so _infatuated_ with the energy of the room. 

Out of nowhere, she heard the low tremor of his voice, sweetly calling her name. “ _Fiona_ …?” Her heart nearly stopped. There he was… a _few_ steps away from her, standing up behind his desk, staring at her with the most _astonished_ gaze. A part of her wanted to just run up to him and hug him so incredibly tight, he could _never_ get away from her again, but she _didn’t_ … she _couldn’t_. She tipped her hat in his direction instead, a small smile on her lips, before she walked up to his desk.

“Hey hotshot.” Fiona said, her voice trembling a lot more than she wanted it too, completely ruining the whole cool, calm, and collected demeanor she was _trying_ to pull off. She found herself quickly examining every bit of Rhys’s face, trying to see _exactly_ what had changed since the last time she saw him. Surprisingly, his usual gawky, idiotic, humorous manner still remained. _Except_ , she noticed the dark eye bags that hung below his mismatched eyes, with the white outer area of his auburn eye tinted with red. It looked to her that it had been awhile, _weeks_ perhaps, since he had gotten any sleep.

Rhys smiled at her greeting and Fiona felt her heart _scream_. The amount of emotion she was feeling in this moment was _indescribable_. She was feeling so many things, anger, happiness, frustration, factuation, things she _never_ thought she would ever have to experience while looking at this… this _company jackass_ ; however, standing here, in front of him, that was _all_ she could feel.

“Please, have a-have a seat.” Rhys piped up and motioned at one of the two leather chairs that were positioned in front of his desk. Although, when Fiona sat down, Rhys _didn’t_. He just stood there, watching her as she _attempted_ to get comfortable on the the chair, trying to keep herself from sliding off. “Are you… are you _not_ going to sit?” Fiona asked, now returning his gaze. Rhys replied with a head shake, “No, actually I’m pretty tired of ya know… _sitting_.” 

“Oh, yeah.” She then found herself fidgeting with her hat before adding, “And, uh, wow that security of yours. You really need to update it. I have _complete_ access to come in here and mess with you _whenever_ I want too apparently.” She said, trying to act all smug. This, though, was met with a small laugh from Rhys, “You do realize you already have access, right? I was able to see your face behind the eyeball. Obviously, I deleted all the previous employees from the system.” Fiona didn’t know _why_ this made her blush, but it _did_. All she could respond with was a quiet, “ _Oh _.” Things grew a bit awkward after this. Just the two of them alone together, both having so much to say, but unable to find the words.__

____

“You know-“ Rhys began out of nowhere, sending Fiona’s heart into utter _chaos_. “I… I know how _this_ looks, and how upset you probably are with me right now.” Upset didn’t even _describe_ how she was feeling.

____

Fiona crossed her legs and folded her arms, unintentionally throwing a scorning look in his direction. “ _Really_? How do you think it looks?”

____

Rhys swallowed and ran a hand through his hair, “I, uh… I didn’t just _run_ off after the vault. I-“

____

“Wait.” Fiona interrupted, and pointed an accusing finger in his direction, “You did _exactly_ that. You picked yourself up, brushed yourself off, and went off and did your own thing, just like after Helios. You made absolutely _no_ effort to reach out to any of us, no attempt to reach out to _me_. We got radio silence from you ever since then, and it is _completely_ unfair Rhys, and downright _shitty_.” She paused to give Rhys a chance to speak, but then she realized she didn’t want him too. There was nothing he could say to make _this_ better. Nothing he could do to fix what’s she’s been _feeling_ for the past two months. 

____

“Why is that, _Mr. CEO_? Hm? You seem to have to answers for _everyone_ else. Giving out jobs left and right to bandits and psychos, and those fucking _traitors_ who abandoned you and left you for _dead_ on Helios. Meanwhile, I… I didn’t even get a _goddamn_ message. So, yeah, maybe you think _all_ Pandorans are scumbags who don’t give a shit about anyone, but themselves, but I… I would _absolutely_ love to know, how you could possibly stand there, look into _my_ eyes, and see _that_.” Her voice ended up breaking at that last part. Why was she so _desperately_ trying to prove her worth to him? Her _equality_? What did she want him to say? Who was she looking for behind the over gelled up hair, a little too sleek of a suit, and all the gadgets and gizmos?

____

Rhys didn’t say anything at _first_. He just… _stared_ at her. “Fiona-” 

____

She could feel herself beginning to tear up, and she most certainly did _not_ want to stick around to hear what he had to say. She didn’t know if she would be able to handle it. “Never mind.” She muttered as she quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve and practically jumped out the chair. “This was really such a huge mistake, I should’ve _never _came. It’s-“__

______ _ _

“Fiona!” The loud, _agitated_ voice she was met in response with was enough to stop her in her tracks. “Would you… Could you please just _shut up_ and listen to me for one _goddamn_ second?” She didn’t even notice that Rhys had walked around his desk and was now standing a few inches away from her. She could feel his eyes fixated on her. She was too much of a coward to return his stare, so she simply looked to the side with a huff. “ _What_?”

______ _ _

Rhys furrowed his brows with a scoff and leaned against his desk, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I said something I _shouldn’t_ have, before we entered the vault. Something so selfish and-and so… so _stupid_. I offered you to come and work for me, and I wasn’t even thinking what reality that might’ve created for you. You aren’t the boring, able to sit in a cubicle for _hours_ at time sort of person. You can't just be tied down like that, you’re a _badass_ vault hunter now, and… at the time, I thought… I could make _that_ a reality for you if you came to work for me. I thought that vault would lead us all to victory, finally, and then… it _didn’t_.” He shifted from one foot to another.

______ _ _

“And… and you made that-that _face_ , one that could break Elpis in half given the chance. The same face you made after Felix ran off with the money and we all thought it was _over_. The same one when… when Sasha almost _died_. That… _heh_ -” He let out a soft, defeated chuckle, as if he had lost her in his ramblings, trying to find the _exact_ words he had used in his head over and over again, to so _hopelessly_ try and get her to _understand_. “You went and rocked my entire goddamn _world_ , Fiona. After, Felix left, I felt like I had to make it up to you, that I was… _obligated_ too. I tried to do anything I could to prevent you from making that… that damn _face_ again, but-” It was so _heart shattering_ , and _ground shaking_ , he feared it would break his heart for _good_.

______ _ _

Rhys then looked down, “Here I am, looking at it _right now_.”

______ _ _

He then swallowed hard and got up the courage to face her again. “I _do_ have a job for you Fiona, I never lied to you. Money isn’t _everything_ , I’ve said this before, but I want-I want you to be well off and… and _happy_.” He mumbled the last part so quietly, Fiona didn’t even register what he had said. “And, believe it or not I’ve been trying to-to ask you for _months_ , but I just… I didn’t know if I had the right words or if you even _wanted_ to see me again-”

______ _ _

“Wait, why the _hell_ would you think that?” She questioned, and Rhys let out a long, drawn out sigh. “Well, b- _because_ … I… I didn’t want you to think that here I was…. _completely_ well off, and _unaffected_ by the vault, while everyone else’s lives were _ruined_ by it. I didn’t want to make it anymore difficult on anyone than it already was, and… and I was scared you’d come here and see all of… _this_ , and think-” 

______ _ _

“You didn’t _care_.” Fiona finished for him. Rhys looked at her, startled, “Y-Yeah, because that is so… so _far_ from the truth. I just… a part of me was hoping that if you- if you really needed the _help_ , you’d reach out, because… you know I’m _always_ going to be there for you Fi.”

______ _ _

Fiona felt her body temperature rise, all the heat rising up to her face and chest, and she still couldn’t _believe_ it was _Rhys_ who was making her feel _this_

_______ _ _ _

“A-Anyway,” He started again, quickly looking away from her, which made her heart twitch with yearning. “I know you were so _excited_ about the idea of vault hunting, and I could think of no one better to do it, but _you_. Then-” Rhys sighed _again_ , “Word got around fast about the Traveller, and… and I felt like me reaching out and asking if you needed _help_ would come off as some sort of _acknowledgement_ of… of failure. I didn’t want to do that to you, or make you feel that way.” 

______ _ _

Fiona nodded slowly, “But… I did _fail _. I fell and I haven’t been able to pick myself back up again, and _everyday_ …” She looked down at her hands and began to fiddle with the sleeves of her coat. “Everyday it gets more _difficult_. More and more, it’s never ending. A ruthless, vicious cycle of how hard this life can be. And maybe… _maybe_ I was stupid, and ignorant to think _I_ was cut out for it.”__

____

______ _ _

____

Rhys regarded her for a few silent moments, before opting to speak, “Athena is in the _same_ exact position as you Fi, and she’s been doing it for _way_ longer. You didn’t _fail_ , the vault being empty it… it changed _everything_ , but listen to me-“

____

______ _ _

____

Rhys then moved closer to her, carefully reaching over and pushing a small piece of hair behind her ear. His movements were so light, and slow, Fiona felt an _ache_ for his actual touch. “None of that is _your_ fault. Things just… just happened to turn out this way, and that's _okay_. This doesn’t make you a _failure_ , and it doesn’t mean you should just give up. I’m going to help you in _anyway_ I possibly can. I _promise_ you, you’re going to be okay.” 

____

______ _ _

____

With those words, and his closeness to her face still lingering, Fiona found herself slowly backing away. She didn’t _allow_ herself to get too close. Just like in the vault, when the lighting _overemphasized_ his strong features more than ever, and his voice was just above a whisper, she wanted to so _dangerously_ embrace him. This would be going directly against any feelings of dislike she had towards the company man previously, but in _that_ moment, she _never_ wanted to leave his presence. And… just like that, he was _taken_ from her. Much like when Helios crashed, he _begged_ her not to leave him and she returned that with a _promise_ , but they still got separated. It seemed as if the universe always broke them apart when they got _too_ close, and Fiona didn’t know if she would be able to go through _all_ of that again. She didn’t _want_ too.

____

______ _ _

____

With quick movements and an awkward laugh, she drew an invisible line between them once more. Looking away from Rhys, her back now greeting him, she spun the conversation into a completely different direction. Keeping Rhys as _far_ away from her as she could. “Yeah, well, _thanks_.” Was all she allowed herself to respond with. Unable to look back and face _whatever_ expression Rhys was currently wearing behind her.

____

______ _ _

____

“So, what kind of _work_ are you talking about exactly?”

____

______ _ _

____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, as promised, here’s chapter 3! There was a lot more I wanted to get into with this chapter, but I figured I’d save all the heart heavy content for chapter 4 ;) With that, I just want to thank everyone who’s read and left kudos on this work so far! Chapter 4 should be out by the end of this week, chapter 4 will be from Rhys’s POV and with that will come a lot of PTSD/Anxiety, so please take this as trigger warning and keep this in mind when its released. Anywho, thanks so much for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!! Thank you so so much for reading!!! I haven’t written in awhile and I’m absolutely thrilled to be writing again!! I absolutely adore Rhys and Fiona, and I wanted to compose a fic of one of my many theories on what may have happened to them after the vault, since its something I’m sure we all think about a lot. I intend on updating every two weeks or so, however, chapter 2 should be out either tomorrow or the next day, as the prologue is just a small excerpt. This chapter is basically just to give you all an idea and understanding of what the subject of this fic will be based around in upcoming chapters. Anyway, enough of my rambling, I hope you enjoyed reading this small part and stay along for the ride!!!


End file.
